#FlashFiveFriday – Weather

This month Mr B and I are taking part in #FlashFiveFriday run by The Indie Exchange.

#FlashFiveFriday is a weekly flash fiction / flash blogging prompt.

The rules are very simple if you’d like to take part:

1) Write for no longer than five minutes
2) No upper or lower word limits
3) You must write something new
4) You can prepare your post ahead of time but the 5 minute limit still applies
5) If you add your blog post to the weekly linky you must visit five other blogs that week too to show your support

This month Mr B and I are taking part in #FlashFiveFriday run by The Indie Exchange.

#FlashFiveFriday is a weekly flash fiction / flash blogging prompt.

The rules are very simple if you’d like to take part:

1) Write for no longer than five minutes
2) No upper or lower word limits
3) You must write something new
4) You can prepare your post ahead of time but the 5 minute limit still applies
5) If you add your blog post to the weekly linky you must visit five other blogs that week too to show your support

#FlashFiveFriday – Dog

Dave

Coming from the UK I am amongst people that love a good cup of tea and one of our main topics of conversation is the weather. The UK has unusual weather patterns in that they are so unpredictable. We have just been through a summer that was a major let down, desperately hoping for some decent weather and having to make do with isolated sunshine in between rain and grey skies.

What amazes me about the British is that as soon as the weakest rays of the sun poke through the overhanging clouds the shorts, T-shirts and short skirts are out in force and the coats disappear. It’s almost as if the sun has melted the thick clothes away such is the sudden turnaround. I’m often caught out when the sun finally does show up. I am clearly not in tune with the weather as well as most.

One of the freakiest days I can recall was when I worked in Leeds and it was June, so we’re talking summer here. That day the rain came down in the afternoon and it came down hard, flooding the city centre. In fact it was so bad that we were given permission to head home early. I found that all the trains were cancelled and it took some people 3-4 hours to get home when they only lived ten minutes away. Me? Well, I got lucky. Stranded at the train station with hundreds of disgruntles commuters, some genius on the platform said to “To hell with this, who wants to grab a taxi to Huddersfield with me?” Myself and two others took the offer and we got back to Huddersfield before some people that lived in Leeds got home! There’s nothing like British weather to leave you dumfounded and inconvenienced!

Donna

We are relying on some major technology here in our old broken-down house at the moment. The bucket. The weather in the UK this year has been wet and windy to say the least – not a good time to discover several holes in the roof.

Thankfully, my Dad was able to patch them up but one needs a little more work. In the meantime, our trusty bucket is protecting us from drips and dribbles. Although I initially panicked at finding the holes in the roof, I’ve realised since that these ‘crises’ put our modern lives of convenience in perspective. We have food, heating, clothing, shelter – yet a hole in the roof causes mayhem and panic.

I saw a homeless man this week. I see him quite often, ask how he is, pass on some money. At 3 a.m. in the morning listening to the rain after one of our encounters, I realised how inconsequential a hole in the roof was by comparison to no roof. I felt shame but I also felt relief that I had realised this.

We will fix our hole before it gets a little bigger or the attic gets a little messier. In the meantime, I am happy to rely on our trusty bucket and think about how lucky we are if this is what we can consider to be a ‘crisis’.

Related

Author: Donna BrownDonna is a longtime book lover and sometime book reviewer and has devoured books from an early age. She writes short (or long) stories as and when inspiration hits and is married to fantasy author David M. Brown (Fezariu's Epiphany, A World Apart). She was also co-contributor to David's book, Man vs Cat, a humorous look at life with six rambunctious rescue cats.
Donna has lived in many different areas of the UK over the last 30-something years but has remained in Yorkshire for the past decade. She ardently disputes the misnomer that 'It's grim up north'.

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0 Responses to "#FlashFiveFriday – Weather"

Both of your posts were touching. We lived in UK (RAF Alconbury – the fens – East Anglia) back in the early 90s. Coincidently my post this week was a memory of those days.

I was just telling a colleague this week about how the early morning hours of Spring through Fall in UK you could actually see blue sky and sun before the marine layer of low cloud set in and the winds picked up. Windy/rainy/cold never mattered when we were all properly dressed for a day out.

Donna, Lately I've been working part time as a social worker focused on homeless veterans. I carry a pocket full of change that amounts to about $4 US. I dole it out between my office and my bus stop. If it is all gone before I get home I can honestly tell the needy person asking for coins that I'm all out of change.

I just wanted to say that FlashFiveFriday has been a real joy since I started participating. I commend you both for offering the stimulation to reflect on each and every prompt.

We both thank you for taking part in FlashFiveFriday. I'm personally enjoying the weekly writing workout. At the cost of 5 minutes it's a great way to get your mind working and test your creativity. There have been some terrific posts so far :)

LOL, I hope you mend your roof soon! The bucket is a brilliant invention. It's true – we complain about where we live sometimes, but at least we have somewhere. It's hard to imagine not having anywhere, being completely rootless and having the street or a doorway as your home. No man is an island, as they say.

It's true! I'm sure no one else in the world talks about the weather as much as us Brits do! All through the thing they call summer here, other writers in writing groups (mostly in the US) were saying how hot it was! I was soooo jealous! But I guess we have more differential seasons and we can't get bored with the weather as we never know what it's going to do next! The joy of being an island!

I agree, the bucket is a fantastic invention. We'd be lost without it.

I love how many Brits grumble when it's cold that they want sun but when the hot weather occasionally appears some of them, me included, start complaining that we want rain and it to be colder. I'm never satisfied with the weather but this year the summer was a no-show. I bet winter won't be the same!

Wow, great posts!! Donna it's so true how the littlest things can upset us. You made me think about my behavior lately. We are remolding the kitchen and I've complained about everything. I need to be thankful I have a kitchen, family and husband who's put up with me lately. Thanks for that reminder!!

David, I loved the part about the sun melting away the clothing. It was a brilliant image.